


Southwood Plantation Road

by without_a_license



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, M/M, Sharing a Bed, Sleepwalking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-26
Updated: 2013-04-26
Packaged: 2017-12-09 13:10:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/774574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/without_a_license/pseuds/without_a_license
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set immediately after 1.05. Hannibal offers to share his bed to prevent Will from sleepwalking into danger.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Southwood Plantation Road

**Author's Note:**

> This fic has been translated into Chinese by the lovely Latte429. You can read it [here.](http://www.mtslash.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=89776) The user ID for guests is showmemywork, and the password is slash123.

For such a large space, Hannibal's office seems to get smaller every time Will enters it. The walls act like an extension of the man, gentling turning around Will, getting closer and closer with each rotation. Hannibal is wearing a sky-blue tie and shirt today, reinforcing the association. Will runs his hand along a shelf, rubbing the little collection of dust between his fingers.

"What brings you here today, Will." 

Hannibal is behind him at the moment, but Will can picture his carved cheekbones, the way he turns his head as he fails to end the sentence with a question mark. Will rubs his both hands over his face, hard enough to displace the skin of his cheeks and leave them aching. 

"It happened again. I was…thinking. In my bed. Next thing I knew, I was 100 yards into the woods behind my house. In my underwear. My feet are…all scratched and swollen. I don't…I don't know if I can. Not anymore"

Will presses his fingers to his brow bones now and drops into a chair, bracing himself on his knees. Hannibal is in front of him now, posture still perfect, with his fingers resting on some sort of glass ornament. 

"The things you expect of yourself, and the things Jack expects of you, are beyond what either of you would expect from another person. Would you ask another to put up with the images that fill your mind?"

"I…I don't know. Maybe? I'm catching killers, aren't I? Preventing murders. That has to…there always has to be a cost."

"And your sanity is the cost?"

"Maybe. It's not like I had that much to begin with. It's not… Right now I just want to be able to sleep." 

Hannibal slaps his hand down on a book and looks up. He's doing his version of a smile, which is really just narrowing his eyes further and twitching his inscrutable mouth. 

"Then you shall sleep with me!"

Will jumps up, moves to place the chair between himself and Hannibal. His heart is pounding and his cheeks are flaming red.

"What the _hell_ , Hannibal. You can't just proposition your patients! Or…friends, or whatever we are!"

Will turns to leave, but Hannibal raises a hand. He is truly smiling now, and doing his best to look nonthreatening. He fails, but he does it with style.

"No, no, no, you misunderstand me. Please do not go. I was not proposing anything inappropriate. You see, I have a very large bed. You sleep on one side, and I, on the other. If you get up in the night, I will wake, and if you are sleeping, I will wake you. This way, you not wander off and get hurt. You and I will both sleep more easily knowing you are safe." 

"And you think that's not inappropriate? You can't just invite people to share your bed! I'd be…imposing. And it would be weird! I really don't think… Thank you for the offer? I guess? I'm…going to go now." 

Will puts his hand on the doorknob. Of all the ways he thought he'd inevitably screw up this friendship, turning down a come-on was fairly low on the list. Still, he'd had enough experience in college to know that Hannibal would probably no longer want to see him. A large hand came down lightly over Will's. Oh god, he was going to try to persuade him.

"Will. I was not propositioning you. I want you to be safe. But if you cannot do this, I understand. We will forget all about it, yes? And if you change your mind, the offer remains. Please, do not feel that you have offended me."

Will mumbles and nods and manages to get through the door without another fatally awkward situation. The most important rule is never to make eye contact. He feels the ghost of Hannibal's palm against the back of his right hand for the next two hours. 

*** 

Two nights later, Will wakes up in a tree, three miles from his house. Winston is asleep on the ground. People say Will Graham has no friends, but they are blind to the true friendship of dogs. Winston would probably not let him kill himself in his sleep. 

On the third night, he doesn't sleep.

The fourth night find him on Hannibal's porch, shifting from foot to foot. He had shoved some clothes and toiletries into an old backpack, and the jury is still out on whether or not he will vomit into Hannibal's shrubbery when the door swings open. 

Hannibal looks more than a little like a shark when he grins. He should probably never smile like that again. 

"Will! Come in, you are just in time to join me for a late dinner. Ah, you are staying the night? Very good, you look like you haven't slept in days. Dinner first, though, yes?"

Will shuffles, and mumbles, and pushes at his glasses. Hannibal is touching his wrist. Will does not like to be touched.

"Um, yes. Not sleeping. I would…dinner would be good, if you have enough, I mean. I don't…I'm sorry, I should go home."

Hannibal is holding his elbow now. Will is having trouble focusing.

"Nonsense, don't leave! I always make too much. Come, we will eat and then you will sleep. You will feel better in the morning, I am sure." 

***

Will wakes up on a firm mattress, beneath a heavy arm. Someone's nose is pressed against his neck. The man has very fine hair. It tickles. Will flexes his right hand, which was curled around a pale, muscular forearm. 

The world rushes together in an instant as Will wakes up completely. He is in Hannibal's bed, in Hannibal's arms, with Hannibal's hair tickling his neck. He is Hannibal's little spoon. The room does not have a digital clock, but it's obviously still dark outside.

Will swallows, and tries to determine how best to deal with this situation. If he lies very still, Hannibal might let go in his sleep, allowing Will to sneak away. On the other hand, Hannibal might sleep until morning, with Will trapped beneath his arm. Either way, it's probably best to pretend to be asleep. No need to have a conversation about…cuddling. 

Luckily Will has plenty of experience spending time alone in his head. He closes his eyes to think…and Hannibal makes an angry sort of grumble in his sleep, tossing his head like a horse and dragging Will closer, tucking him under his chin. 

Will had been trying to remember the dream he was having before he awoke. He inhales the humid air rising from the space between his cheek and Hannibal's hand. Ah, yes. He had been dreaming of a blazing fire. Will stood in the middle of it, but rather than being consumed, he was warmed and comforted.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this immediately after watching Coquilles. It's named after the Mountain Goats song, because The Mountain Goats are basically the soundtrack of Will Graham's life. Comments much appreciated.


End file.
